


Ten Years Later

by trebleDeath



Series: Human Lapidot [3]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Amputee Peridot, F/F, Human AU, fight me, headcanons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-11
Packaged: 2018-04-13 21:57:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4538895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trebleDeath/pseuds/trebleDeath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peridot has long since moved on with her life. She's set aside her gaming and gotten a successful career after flying through college. It's a new city, a new life, and she's all but forgotten silly high school crushes that broke her heart; she is almost thirty, and she really doesn't need to dwell on that. </p><p>But the world she left behind at highschool graduation comes crashing down around her as a girl she never thought she would see shows up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all wanted a happy ending, well guess what. This is your happy ending, one that I wrote in drivers ed insead of paying attention, so now I suck at driving, all for the sake of this ship.
> 
> Also, Ren gave me the idea, like, *glances at my empty wrist* idk, months ago. I do want a happy ending, but I'm not really going to change my original story. I need it to be heart wrenching.

"Peri! Hey Peri!" 

Peridot shuddered at the voice calling out to her on the crowded road. She hadn't hear that name for five years, not since she quit playing video games in order to study. Despite her love for blowing up virtual soldiers, she was NOT going to let the full ride scholar ship she managed to snag go to waste. With a slightly frustrated groan, she whipped around, causing her already messy hair to swish around her cheeks. 

A tall brown girl walked up to her, a small smile present on her face. "Peri! Oh my god, what has it been, ten years?" She opened her slender arms for a hug. 

Immediately, Peridot took a step back, "I'm sorry, what was your name again?"

The other scoffed to hide the flash of pain flitting across her face. "You mean you don't remember me?" 

"I don't mean to be rude, but, why would I remember you."

She gave an awkward chuckle, not managing to mask the pain that time, yet she continued. "Hey, look at us, asking each other questions, just like we did in high school."

Finally, it clicked, "Lapis!"

Lapis' smile returned full force, "You do remember!"

Peridot offered a small smile in return, "Yeah, sorry. I mostly forgot all of Highschool, and I only knew you for a couple months. A hell of a two months that was."

With a tiny sigh, she looked at her feet, mumbling something under her breath, "I know. But I never forgot about you," The response was so quiet, she almost didn't catch it. Before Peridot could respond, Lapis perked up again, "There must be someone you remember. What about Pearl?"

Her face soured, "Peal. I could never forget about her."

"But you forgot about me," She kept her voice light to make it obvious she was joking as she bumped her arm, "I talked to you WAY more than Pearl ever did."

Peridot smiled again, this time it was a pity smile, "Yeah. And for someone who wasn't my rival, you sure did cause a lot of pain."

Immediately the sunny disposition left the area. Lapis's smile fell slowly as silence over took them. Softly, she spoke, "I'm sorry. I know I should have something more to say, but this is the first time I've seen you in so long, and I really didn't want to bring that up."

The shorter gave a sigh, leaving a pregnant pause before she responded. "Hey, wanna go grab coffee?"

Her head shot up, a mix of confusion and hope scrawled across her delicate features, "You mean like right now?"

"Yeah, why not? I just got off of work."

"At one?"

"Yeah."

"Do you work a night shift or something?"

A smile creeped onto her face, 'I know what you're getting at, but I'm not going to play along."

She looked utterly confused, "What am I getting at?"

And like that, the smiled left. She shook her head as if to erase the idea, "Nothing, never mind. So are you available for coffee? I mean, I can wait for another day, but I'd like to catch up."

Lapis nodded "Yeah. I'm totally free right now."

"Great. There's this great coffee shop down the street. I was actually just heading there," She grabbed the others' hand, causing her to blush as she was tugged along. 

Not fifteen minutes later they were sitting at an outdoor café where the waitresses knew Peridot by name; a small sentiment Lapis found funny. She smiled at her as the cheerful woman walked away with their orders, "Everyoen seems to know you here, caffeine addict."

Peridot spluttered, "Am not! It's just that I leave great tips."

"Yeah, and you're always here to give those tips."

"Fine. But you try being a doctor without hourly caffeine!"

"Oh. You're a doctor? How fitting," Sarcasm dripped from her voice. 

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing," she out her hands up defensively, palms out, "Just that I remember you as the kind of person who got straight A's without trying. It makes sense that you would become something prestigious."

"True enough, but I don't have the personality to work with people. I could have become an engineer."

"You're right, you don't really have the personality to work with people."

She flushed, "What the hell does that mean!"

Her hands went back up, "Nothing nothing,"

Peridot frowned, "Are you alright Lapis?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine, why do you ask?"

She shrugged, "You aren't acting like you used to back in high school."

"Ten or so years can change you, you know?"

"Yeah yeah, the rewiring of the brain in the early twenties and all that, but underlying personality usually stays."

Her shoulders hunched up, "Thank you so much for explaining how the human brain works."

Peridot frowned again, biting her bottom lip, "Okay, no need to get defensive." 

"I'm not getting defensive!"

She couldn't help but start laughing at that.

Lapis blushed again, "What are you laughing about?"

"Nothing," She tried to stop, "Nothing. i swear. It’s just that that's exactly what a defensive person would say." A giggle escaped despite her efforts. 

"What kind of doctor re you," The blushing girl blurted out, defectively changing the subject. 

"Oh, I'm not actually a doctor. I kind of lied about that, I mean, I AM only twenty eight,"

"So?"

"So, becoming a doctor takes like twelve years. I barely finished premed, and I don't really want to get a doctorates. I mean, what I do falls under being a doctor, but I don't have a degree."

"You didn't answer my question, what DO you do?"

"Oh, right. I work in prosthetics, designing them, working to get fake limbs fully functional, all that. It's doctor work, but it's mostly engineering based on the human body, hence the premed stuff."

"Interesting, what made you want to do that?"

Peridot paused and started chewing on the inside of her cheek before answering, "It's what I need to do."

She stared at her blankly, "Are you getting religious on me?"

"No. It's not a religious thing that made me feel like I need to do this, it's something else that makes me feel that this is where I belong" Her dace was dead serious

Lapis nodded slightly, "Okay, well, I'm not that close to you so I won't pry."

"Thanks." She seemed to let out a tiny breath of relief, "What do you do?"

She hesitated before finally spitting out one word. "Nothing."

"No seriously, tell me, I want to know. I promise I won't judge, even if it's something like fast food."

She jut shook her head, "Nothing. I'm not kidding, I'm unemployed."

After a moment, Peridot nodded, "Okay."

An awkward silence settled over their table as the coffee arrived. 

The taller picked up a muffin, "Let's not talk about work."

She nodded again, "I agree."

Another moment of silence passed before Lapis spoke again, "Hey. Earlier, you said you knew what I was getting at, what was I getting at?"

She smiled, "Come one, don't tell me you dropped drama after high school. You told me that performing arts were the only worth while things about public education."

"Of any high school education for that matter," She leaned back in her chair with the muffin, "But what's make your point?"

"Nothing."

"No, tell me."

She sighed, "Back when you were flirting with me, we would play a question game. It was how our first conversation got started."

A forced smile made it's way onto Lapis' face, "Aw, you do remember me."

"Yeah," She faltered, looking into her coffee as she stirred, "I remember every second we spent together. It's been a while, that and memory distortion."

"Memory distortion?"

"Everything you remember is a little bit wrong. Every time it gets a little wronger."

She nodded, "You know a lot about brains."

She cracked a smile, "Yeah."

Their visit was only half an hour long. At the end, Peridot stood up and grabbed her uncharacteristic purse, "Well it was great talking to you, but I need to get going."

Lapis stood up as well and fiddled with the hem of her shirt, but she didn't say anything.

Peridot faltered, "Is everything okay Lapis?"

"Yeah.... Just." She looked up at her, urgency in her eyes, "Can I stay with you?" It all came out at once. 

She stared at her a moment before speaking, "I don't mean to be rude, but when I said I need to go, I meant it. I ave to go shopping; I haven't gone in like, three weeks."

"No, I meant can I stay at your place? I kno this sounds weird and sketchy, but please let me stay with you."

She paused, scepticism entering her eyes, "Why?"

Lapis almost whimpered, "It's a long story, but I'll tell it to you if you let me stay, even if it's just for one night."

"...Are you bribing me with a story?"

"No! It would just be useless to tell you unless I got room and board. But if you want to charge me, I have a couple hundred dollars," The concern only grew in her face.

It took a moment, but she answered, "Fine. But only because you're cute," 'and because I want to see you smile again,' she added in her mind.

"Thank you@" Her eyes lit up, and she did smile.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have this all written out, it's just a matter of typing up.

"Are you sure you don't need me to stop anywhere for you to get your clothes or anything?" Peridot asked as she opened the door to her small house.

"For the last time Dotty, no."

A concerned frown etched itself on her face, "Okay... Well, here we are, now will you tell me why you even wanted to get here?"

Lapis pushed Peridot out of the door way as she entered and took a seat on the couch, "Sit down."

She rolled her eyes, "Thanks for inviting me into my own home."

It was the others' turn to roll her crystalline eyes, "I mean come sit and I'll tell you a long winding story that explains why I'm here." She put her feet up on the coffee table, apparently having no issues making herself at home. 

"Get your feet off the table," came her immediate scolding. 

Lapis stuck out her tongue and kept her feet on the low table. 

The other sighed as she sat down next to her, "Whatever, just tell me the story."

A long sigh escaped her lips. "Well, long story short, I went to jail. I was caught in a bad relationship, lashed out at people, and destroyed some property. I was in jail for 30 months, right after my child turned two."

Peridot gave her a long hard stare, as if she were trying to see if she was lying. "What?"

She shrugged, "I got out today. All I have is a couple hundred dollars and the clothes on my back, hence why I'm here."

"Wait. You said you were in a relationship? Can't you go to them?"

She bit her lip but covered that up by rolling her eyes, "It was an abusive one. I am NOT going back."

"But don't you want to see your kid again?"

She faltered, her face falling. Of course she wanted to see her baby again. 

"And your partner has some of your belongings, right?"

"Yes. But I'm not going back. And I honestly can NOT believe you're trying to pawn me off and send me back to my abuser. What the actual fuck is wrong with you?" Her voice rose, showing she was angry even though her body language suggested otherwise. The thin girl curled up on herself on the couch, finally taking her feet off the coffee table. 

"No!" She put her hands up defensively, "I'm never going to do that. I'm not as terrible as I make myself out to be, I was just going to suggest that I drive you to your old place and let you see your kid while getting some of your belongings."

She didn't move from her curled up position, "I'm afraid. Like, I'm not afraid of her, I'm afraid that I'll get sucked back into the relationship against and that she's going to use Mala against me. 

"I'll be there," Peridot reached over and gently too her hand, "I'll make sure that doesn't happen. Let me help you."

Lapis shook her head, "I don't think that will work."

After a long pause, she slowly moved her hand to the other's back, acting purely on instinct, "It's going to be okay. You're aware of what she'll pull on you and I'll be there. I promise I won't let anything bad happen. I can't lose you again." She let herself speak what was on her mind, not filtering and not aware of what she was saying. 

Lapis looked up slowly, smiling at the shorter, "Okay."

Peridot reflected her smile, "I'm sorry if I'm prying, but can I hear the long version of your story?"

"Sure, but this story requires food, the good kind of comfort food." She got up from the couch and left. Nearly fifteen minutes later, she returned with two plates, one with sandwiches and one with chips. "You have like, no food whatsoever." She commented as she sat down, placing the plates on the coffee table. 

"I told you that I had to go shopping!" She crossed her arms a bit defensively, "What did you even do, raid my kitchen."

She gave a light chuckle. "I did. I guess some things never change. Let me guess, did you spend all your money on video games?"

She scoffed, "No. I spent it paying back my debt."

"What, I thought you had a full ride scholar ship."

"Yeah, but that didn't carry over to pre med." She shrugged, "But this time I was smart, I have some money for groceries."

"Okay fine. You got me. I guess some things do change," She let out a barely audible chuckle before sighing, "Okay, are you ready to hear my long sob story?"

"Yeah," Peridot drew her legs in and rubbed at her knees before grabbing the plate of chips for herself. 

She nodded, "Well, like I said, my daughter Malachite was around one years old, and I was upset at my wife so I left the house, all furious and such. I'm not really sure what happened after that honestly, but I got pulled over by a police officer. Apparently I was speeding amidst my rage, really, not all that surprising. But I guess I flipped him off and drove my car away before getting the ticket. This is the part I remember clearly. I remember that just running away wouldn't do anything, well anything but drawing the attention of more police. I remember just being so angry and so useless that I veered off the road into a gas station. I knew that it would blow up and all that gas, so I jumped out before it hit. I could say I don't know why I did it, but I do know why. I was angry at the world, at my spouse, at me, I was just so angry and sad, and I wanted results. I wanted something big. 

I'm just lucky that the gas station was pretty much abandoned. There were no workers in it at the time an no customers, and no one around when it blew up. Well, there was one person aside from me. I was told that somebody sustained serious injuries and I got a nasty scar all across the top of my back. But it could have been worse. Basically, I was charged with destruction of property, vandalism, endangering others and ignoring a police officer. So a little over two years. 

Honestly, they were considering pressing charges for terrorism, I was looking at a life's sentence. I didn't get it all because of dumb luck. My wife served in the armed forces, you know to get an education and a job. She ended up staying in it rather than serving for eighteen months or whatever. She became a general before I got arrested, then she had to quit to watch our daughter. It's so stupid, she suggested I get pregnant so I'd have a part of her when she was away and have someone to keep me occupied. But now I doubt she'll let me have Mala. God, she probably hates me for having to pay to clean up my mess." She shrugged as if she were all nonchalant about it. She took a bite of her sandwich, completely ignoring the tears at the corners of her eyes. 

"Dang." was all Peridot managed to get out for a minute, "So now you're a free jail bird?"

"Yep. I'm flying now." She stuck out her tongue, absently swiping at her eyes. 

"Well, if it's anything, I'm glad you didn't get a life time in there."

"Yeah. And now I can put it behind me and never think about it again."

"Oh, right. Sorry. I didn't mean to pry or dredge up any bad memories."

"Nah, it's fine," she was clearly lying, "But don't think this doesn't give me a pass to pry into your life," Finally, a semblance of a smile appeared on her face as she smirked.


End file.
